Molded handle tie



L. B. c'r'roN MOLDED HANDLE TIE Nov. 12, 1963 Filed OCT,- 31. 1960INVENToR. fo/y 5 Carra/v I f77-fume? United States Patent() 3,110,779MOLDED HANDLE Tm Leon B. Cotton, Drexel Hill, Pa., assigner to I-T-ECircuit Breaker Company, Philadelphia, la., a corporation ofPennsylvania Filed Oct. 3l, 196), Ser.. No. 65,979 6 Claims. (Cl.Zitti-Sti) This invention relates to circuit breakers of low currentrating and more particularly to a novel molded handle tie whereby twoadjacent circuit breakers may be manually operated and which permits thehandle of a tripped circuit breaker to move to trip position while thehandle of the other circuit breaker remains in the ON position.

Low current rated circuit breakers of the type customarily utilized inthe home and for light industrial applications are often tied togetherfor simultaneous manual operation. Circuit breakers of this type aremanually operable between two extreme positions to open and close thecircuit breaker. When the circuit breaker is tripped, there is biasingmeans which urges the operating handle to an intermediate position toindicate the tripped condition.

When a pair of circuit breakers protecting diflerent branch circuits aretied together for simultaneous operation, if a fault should develop inone of the branches, it is most desirable that the branch having thefault be readily determinable. This can best be done by observing thepositions of the circuit breaker operating handles.

lf there is a rigid tie between the circuit breaker handles, should oneof the breakers trip, its handle will remain in the ON position sincethe loading of the operating spring of the other circuit breaker cannotbe overcome by the spring force of the tripped circuit breaker. Thus, itis necessary to provide a non-rigid type of connection between theoperating handles of the circuit breakers in order that the handle ofthe tripped circuit breaker is free to move to trip indicating positionwhile the handle of the other circuit breaker remains in the ONposition.

The prior art has attempted to solve the above noted problem byproviding overlapping handle extensions held by rivets, by providing atie bar held by screws and brackets, by providing male and female handleextensions engaging each other with ample clearance, by providing aswiveling stepped cylindrical tie held in oversize holes in the handles,and by providing a cylindrical tie held by a loose bar disposed inhandle apertures.

It is noted that each of these prior are devices consisted of manyintricate parts and/ or required a good deal of labor in order to mountthe parts to the circuit breakers.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide ahandle tie means which is of extremely simple construction and which isreadily mounted to the circuit breakers. This is accomplished byproviding a simple molded member which is disposed in the space betweenadjacent circuit breaker handles. The molded member is provided with anelongated slot which receives pins extending from the sides of thecircuit breaker handles. The elongated slot provides a lost motionconnection between the tie member and the circuit breaker handles, sothat the handle of the tripped circuit breaker may move to tripindicating position without causing movement of the handle of the othercircuit breaker from the ON position.

The possibility of binding between the handles and the molded member issubstantially eliminated by providing a molded member with an extension.This extension is disposed within a groove formed by cooperatingformations of the adjacent circuit breakers, which forms means forguiding the molded member in its sliding movement and also maintains themolded member spaced from the handles.

@,l will@ Patented Nov. l2, i963 The pins in question are constructed ofrolled sheet material. These pins are disposed within apertures in thehandles and are force fitted therein.

Another object is to provide a handle tie means comprising a simplemolded member.

Still another object is to provide a handle tie means which is securedto the circuit breaker handles by pins extending from these handles.These as well as other objects of this invention shall become readilyapparent after reading the following description of the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIGURE l is an end View of a pair of circuit breakers whose handles aretied together by a tie means constructed in accordance with theteachings of the instant invention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary plan View of the circuit breakers of FIGURE lwith the handles in the ON position.

FlGURE 3 is a View similar to FlGURE 2, with the handles of one circuitbreaker in the ON position and the handle of the other circuit breakerin the trip position.

FGURE 4 is a fragmentary side elevation of the circuit breakers ofFIGURE l looking in the direction of arrows 4 4 of FIGURE l.

FIGURE 5 is an exploded perspective of the handle tie and securing meanstherefor.

Now referring to the iigures. Circuit breakers lll, il. are shownmounted adjacent to one another in side by side relationship. Thecircuit breakers are of the type fully described in U.S. Patent2,773,949. As is well {nown to the art, when circuit breakers of thistype are mounted within a panel board, they are maintained substantiallyin the positions illustrated in FIGURE 1. Each of the circuit breakersitl, il is provided with a manually operating handle l2, which projectsfrom the top of the circuit breaker housing. Handle 12 is pivotable fromthe ON position to the OFF position. When the circuit breaker hastripped, the operating mechanism thereof biases handle l2 to a tripposition which is intermediate the ON and OFF positions.

Handle tie 13 is positioned between operating handles l2 of both circuitbreakers li and ll, so that both circuit breakers are simultaneouslyoperable to the OFF and ON positions, as will be more fully explainedhereinarter.

Handle tie 13 comprises a simple molded member having a narrow downwardextension lll, which is disposed within groove l5 formed through thecooperation between raised housing portions lo at the tops of adjacentcircuit breakers ttl, lll. Groove l5 serves yas a means for guidingIhandle tie i3 in its sliding movement. Handle tie 13 is provided withan elongated `slot i7 which receives pins Zik-2L which extends towardeach other from handles l2.. Since pins Ztl, 2l are yof identicalconstruction, only pin 2@ will be described. Pin 2d is constructed ofrolled sheet material one end of which is upset to lform transverse tabs22.

Tie member 13 is mounted to circuit breakers lil, il by placing guideprojection ld into groove l5 and moving tie member i3 into alignmentwith handles l2. Pin 2@ is then entered into handle aperture 23 ofcircuit breaker l1 from the left side thereof until tabs 22 preventfurther movement of pin 20 to the right. At this time the right end ofpin 26 is disposed within slot 17. lt is to be noted that handleaperture 23 is slightly nndersized with respect lt-o pin Ztl, so that aforced lit is established to retain pin Ztl mounted to handle l2. Pin 2lis similarly mounted to handle l2 of circuit lbreaker lil by beingentered into handle aperture 23 of circuit breaker lll from the rightside thereof.

lt is readily seen that sliding movement of tie member I 13 brings aboutthe simultaneous operation of circuit breakers liti, lll to the ON andOFF positions. That is, toy operate circuit breakers il?, ll to the ONposition, pins 2t?, 21 are picked up by end El of slot i7, and tooperate circuit breakers liti, il tothe OFF position, pins Ztl', 2l arepicked up by end` 32 of slot 17. As best seen in FIG- URE 3, when one ofthe circuit breakers, in thisy case circuit breaker lit?, is tripped,the handle 12 thereof is free to lmove to trip indicating position. lnso doing, pin 2l, in engagement with end 3l of slot t7, moves within tiemember i3, so that pin '2l is at end 32 ot slot 17. AIt is to be notedthat the space between adjacent handles l2 is slightly lgreater than therwidth of tie tmember 113. Further, the cooperation of tie memberextension i4 and guide slot l5 `serves to maintain tie member 13 spacedfrom both handles 12. This insures that no binding action will takepla-ce between handles l2 `and tie member i3, so .that the handle of thetripped circuit breaker is free to moveto trip indicating position.

Thus, this invention provides an inexpensive handle tie means, whichpermits the handle of the tripped circuit breaker to ymove to tripindicating position while the handle of the other circuit breakerremains in lthe ON position. The construction of the tie Imeans is suchthat it may be conveniently mounted in operative position by a simplepin means extending from the handles of adjacent circuit breakers.

Although the invention herein has been described in connection with anexemplary embodiment, it i-s to be -understood that variations andmodifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope thereof, as define-d in the following claims.

l cla-im:

l. A first and a second circuit breaker arranged in adjacent side byside relationship with their operating handles in alignment; each ofsaid handles being manually movable between a first and a secondposition to operate said circuit breakers ON and OFF, respectively; eachof said handles being movable to a third position intermediate said irstand said second positions upon tripping of said circuit breakers; ahandle tie positioned between said handles; means interconnecting saidhandle tie to said handles for simultaneous manual operation of bothcircuit breakers; said interconnecting means including individualunitary means mounted to each of said handles for loosely retaining saidtie whereby the handle of one of said circuit breakers may move to itssaid third posi- Y tionrwhile the handle of lthe other of said circuitbreakers remains in its said iirst position; said tie being continuouslydisposed in a plane parallel to the planes defined by the movement ofsaid circuit breaker handles; said l handle tie comprising a slidablymounted blockdike member having `a projecting guide portion positionedwithin a slot defined by cooperating lformations of said circuitbreakers. Y

2. A Iirst `and a second circuit breaker arranged in adjacent side byside relationship with their operating handles in alignment; each otsaid handles being manually movable between a first and a secondposition to operate said circuit breakers ON and OFF, respectively; eachof said handles being movable to a third position intermediate said lrstand said second positions upon tripping of said circuit breakers; ahandle tie positioned between said handles; means interconnecting saidhandle tie to said handles vfor simultaneous manual operation of bothcircuit breakers; said interconnecting means including individualunitary means mounted to each of said handles for loosely retaining saidtie whereby the handle ot one of said circuit breakers may move to itssaid third position while .the handles of the other of said circuitbreakers remains in its said first position; said tie being continuouslydisposed 4in a plane parallel to the planes defined by the movement `otsaid circuit breaker handles; said Vhandle tie comprising a slidablymounted block-like member; having a projectingguide portion to beoperatively engaged by a cooperating slot formation ott said circuitbreakers Whereby binding lis prevented between relative movement of saidhandle tic and said circuit breaker handles; said individual meanscomprisinga pin for eachod said handles; said pins projecting from saidhandles to one another `and being disposed within an elongated slot ofsaid handle tie whereby said tie is reta-.ined in operative position;each of said pin-s comprising a tubular member force fitted within `anopening of said handle.

3. A iirst and a second circuit breaker arranged in adjacent side byside relationship with their operating handles alignment; each of saidhandles being manually movable between a first and a second position tooperate said circuit breakers ON and OFF, respectively; each of saidhandles being movable to a third position intermediate said irst andsaid second positions upon tripping of said circuit breakers; saidfirst, second and third positions being arcuately disposed about acommon pivot; a handle tie positioned between said handles; meansinterconnecting said handlev tie to s-aid handles for simultaneousmanual operation of both circuit breakers; said interconnecting meansincluding individual unitary means mounted to each off said handles forloosely retaining said tie whereby the handle of one of said cincuitbreakers may move to its Isaid third position while the handle of theother of said circuit breakers remains in its said iirst position; saidtie being continuously disposed in a plane parallel to the planesdefined by the movement of said circuit breaker handles; said circuitbreakers having portions cooperating to form means for guiding movementof said handle tie and maintaining the sides of said handle tie spacedfrom the handles of said circuit breakers whereby binding is preventedbetween relative movement of said handle tie and said circuit breakerhandles.

o a rst and a second circuit breaker, each ot said handles being movablemanually to an ON position and an v OFF position, each of said handlesbeing movable automatically to a position intermediate said ON and OFFpositions, said handles each being pivotally rotated in a first and asecond plane respectively to said ON, O'FF and intermediate positions;said circuit breakers being arranged in adjacent side by side parallelrelationship so that said lirst and second planes are parallel, saidinterconnecting assembly means comprising a handle tie disposed betweensaid circuit breaker handles in a third plane parallel to said first andsecond planes, said tie including a positioning means engageable bycooperating means of said circuit breakers to maintain in the planarspacing between said tie and said circuit breaker handles, a tirst and asecond unitary means to be attached to said iirst and second circuitbreaker handles respectively, and including a portion projecting intocooperating means in said tie, said unitary means being the only membersof said assembly means attached to said circuit breaker handles, saidunitary means projecting portion engaging said cooperating means of saidtie to cause a movement of one of said circuit breaker handles to saidON or OFF postion'to be transmitted to the other of said circuit breakerhandles, but permitting one of said circuit breaker handles toindividually move to said intermediate position without effectingmovement of the other of said circuit breaker handles, said tie beingconstantly contained within said third plane during said movements.

5. An asesmbly means for interconnecting the handles of a irst and asecond circuit breaker, each of said handles being movable manually toan ON position and an OFF position, e-ach of said handles being movableauto matically to a position intermediate said ON and OFF positions;said handles each'beingpivotally rotated in a rst and a second planerespectively to said ON, OFF and intermediate positions; said circuitbreakers being arranged in adjacent side by side parallel relationshipso that said rst and second planes are parallel, said interconnectingassembly means comprising a handle tie disposed between said circuitbreaker handles in a third AJ.. n). *i

plane parallel to said first and second planes, said tie includingpositioning means engageable by cooperating means of said circuitbreakers to maintain the planar spac- `ting between said tie and saidcircuit breaker handles, a rst and a lsecond unitary pin to be attachedto said first and second circuit breaker handles respectively, andincluding a porti-on projecting into cooperating means in said tie, saidpins being the only members of said interconnecting 'assemblymeansattached to said circuit breaker handles, said pins projectingportion engaging said cooperating means yot said tie to cause a movementof one of said circuit breaker handles to said ON or OFF position to betransmitted to the other of said circuit breaker handles, but permittingone of said circuit breaker handles to individually move to saidintermediate position without effecting movement of the other of saidcircuit breaker handles, said `tie being constantly contained withinsaid third plane during said movements, said interconnecting assemblymeans being removable from said circuit breaker handles by the removalof said pins, the removing and attaching of said pins being readilyaccomplished while said circuit breakers are stationary in said firstand second planes.

6. An assembly means for interconnecting the handles of a first and asecond circuit breaker', each off said handles being movable manually toan ON position Vand an OFF position, each of said handles being movableautomatically to a position intermediate said ON and OFF position-s,said handles each being pivotally rotated in a first and a second planerespectively to said ON, OFF and intermediate positions, said circuitbreakers being arranged in adjacent side by side parallel relationshipso that said first and second planes are parallel, said interconnectingassembly means comprising a slidably mounted handle tie disposed betweensaid circuit breaker handles in a third plane parallel to said first andsecond planes, said tie including a projecting positioning meansengageable by cooperating slot means defined by housing :formations cflsaid circuit breakers to maintain the planar spacing between said tieand said circuit breaker handles, a first and a second unita-ry pin tobe attached to said first and second circuit breaker handlesrespectively, and including a portion projecting into cooperating meansin said tie, said pins being the only members of said interconnectingassembly means attached to said circuit breaker handles, said pinsprojecting portion engaging said cooperating means of said tie to causea movement of one of said circuit breaker handles to said ON or OFFposition to be transmitted to the other of said circuit breaker handles,but permitting one of said circuit breaker handles to individually moveto said intermediate position without eiecting movement of the other ofsaid circuit breaker handles, said tie being constantly contained withinsaid third plane during said movements.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,096,548 Jackson Oct. 19, 1937 2,277,645 Johnson Mar. 24, 19422,703,827 Gelzheiser Mar. 8, 19'55 2,773,949 Edmunds Dec. 1l, 1956

1. A FIRST AND A SECOND CIRCUIT BREAKER ARRANGED IN ADJACENT SIDE BYSIDE RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR OPERATING HANDLES IN ALIGNMENT; EACH OFSAID HANDLES BEING MANUALLY MOVABLE BETWEEN A FIRST AND A SECONDPOSITION TO OPERATE SAID CIRCUIT BREAKERS ON AND OFF, RESPECTIVELY; EACHOF SAID HANDLES BEING MOVABLE TO A THIRD POSITION INTERMEDIATE SAIDFIRST AND SAID SECOND POSITIONS UPON TRIPPING OF SAID CIRCUIT BREAKERS;A HANDLE TIE POSITIONED BETWEEN SAID HANDLES; MEANS INTERCONNECTING SAIDHANDLE TIE TO SAID HANDLES FOR SIMULTANEOUS MANUAL OPERATION OF BOTHCIRCUIT BREAKERS; SAID INTERCONNECTING MEANS INCLUDING INDIVIDUALUNITARY MEANS MOUNTED TO EACH OF SAID HANDLES